Do not give this rating to any Chicago Project article without first getting Project team consensus. Subject matter is a must-have for any encyclopedia, and would be highly associated with Chicago or Chicagoland. Examples would be certain Hall of Fame athletes, world class institutions, important national politicians, world class buildings or structures, or must-see tourist attractions. For instance, Michael Jordan is rated Top-importance because as an elite basketball player in Chicago, his accomplishments have also affected and inspired people worldwide. On the other hand, an athlete who plays briefly in Chicagoland before going on to a Hall of Fame career does not count. An example of this would be Dominik Hasek, who has been honored extensively for his hockey accomplishments, but has played for several teams after the Blackhawks. The subject's role as a Chicagoan or person associated with Chicagoland must also be emphasized. This is easily seen at President Barack Obama, who even though he was born in Hawaii, his article is rated Mid-importance by the Hawaii WikiProject and Top-importance by the Chicago WikiProject. (Note that since this project covers all of Cook County and Chicagoland related articles, the words "Chicago" and "Chicagoland" may be used interchangeably in this documentation.)

Must have had (1) a large impact on Chicagoans and an impact on non-Chicagoans, across a couple of generations in a role as a person associated with Chicagoland or as a Chicagoland institution, or (2) a prominent national and/or international role that had a large impact on non-Chicagoans and an impact on Chicagoans. Subject contributes a depth of knowledge. Examples would be National Register of Historic Places listings in Chicago, any currently serving U.S. Congressmen from Chicagoland, important Chicago athletes, or important institutions.

Must have had a role that was (1) important to Chicagoans as a person or institution associated with Chicagoland, (2) a prominent national and/or international role that had a large impact on non-Chicagoans, but a limited role to Chicagoans, (3) of moderate local, national and/or international importance. Subject fills in more minor details. Examples would be interesting buildings, personalities or architectural elements, or nationally prominent individuals who did not play a significant role as Chicagoans before rising to such prominence. Many current and recent statewide elected Illinois politicians would fall under type (3), unless they rose from prominent Chicago positions.

Subject is notable to select Chicagoans for its role as a person or institution associated with Chicagoland. Subject is not particularly notable or significant to a wider range of readers. Examples would be (1) other buildings and narrow topics, (2) professional athletes of moderate importance who briefly played in Chicago, or (3) alumni of local colleges and universities that have become notable for non-Chicago related roles. Note: Persons may be listed in Chicago related categories due to their place of birth, place where they were reared as youths, place where they were educated (high school, college, graduate school), place where they performed their notable service/acts, or place where they resided as adults. Generally, an article subject notable enough to merit a biographical Wikipedia entry is a role model (albeit positive or negative) for many who are current and recent students of the institution of which they are an alumnus, and who have an interest in that particular field of notability. For example, notable politicians may be important to law students, and/or government and history majors; Wall Street chieftains may be important to business school students, and/or economics and finance majors; and famous scientists may be important to medical students and/or other science majors. However, alumni of local colleges and universities who have not stayed in the Chicago area will be of less importance to the project and thus have a lower "Importance" rating than "people from the Chicago area" who are more likely to have roots in the region and/or have stayed in the area.